The First Word: What Makes Great Leaders?
Last month (CB Feb., pg. 10) I wrote about making a choice to NOT participate in a recession. That’s a great idea, but how do you do it? It takes more than just the idea. It takes leadership. Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes. For some, it comes naturally. For others, it doesn’t. But great leaders have some common traits....
Recession? Don't Participate.
It’s February, and here in Northeast Ohio, the weather is dismal. We’re just entering a seriously frigid cold snap — high winds, sub-zero wind chill factors, snow and ice, all the stuff that makes life as a commuter miserable....
Its a Green, Green, Green World
Who would have thunk it? A world gone mad over a color. It’s green. From an artist’s perspective, color is a wonderful thing. It’s one of the loci to all great paintings, drawings, or photos — even if the color is only black or gray. But as a writer, color takes on a slightly different meaning....
Rules & Regulations: Friend or Foe?
When I was a kid growing up in Cleveland, I struggled greatly as a middle child. You see, my family established all these rules and regulations when my older sister began asserting her independence — rules that she somehow managed to successfully (for the most part) circumvent. My younger brother was apparently issued a “Get out of Jail Free” card because he could do no wrong — he was the baby, after all. For me, the rules and regulations stuck like white on rice....
Get Ready for HVACR 2.0
When I first came to work for this magazine in 1984, I was only four years out of college and still had those wide eyes associated with newness and wonder. I was working for a publication that focused on something I had never heard of — the HVACR Industry....
The Quiet Quality Revolution
Do you remember the days when the Quality Improvement Process was the key to all future success? Newspaper pages and industry journals screamed about...
Its Time to Go Back to School
It’s that time of the year that kids hate — the beginning of the new school year. Parents have already (for the most part) done all the clothing shopping (cool fashions are a must), school supply shopping (in my area, high school kids now need two backpacks — a heavy duty one to carry all the heavy stuff to and from school, and a “string” backpack to carry stuff from class to class.), and have paid all their school fees (pay-to-play sports, band, extracurricular activities, etc.)....
The First Word: Put the Customer Back into CRM
Have you ever called your bank, phone company, or some other vendor and become trapped by their automated customer relationship management (CRM) system? You know the drill: a female voice answers and offers you a series of menu choices that rarely takes you to a live person. Instead you either wind up with a pre-recorded message that doesn’t really answer your question, or you’re asked to leave a message and someone will get back to you....
The First Word: Should Customers Pay Now or Pay Later?
Last month I talked about some of the economic issues facing this industry and how HVAC contractors could “weather” them. Now let’s take that one step further — how can HVAC contractors help their customers get through this period of slowdown?...
The First Word: Weathering Economic Woes
It’s no great secret that the economy today is different than it was at the same time last year. Growth in residential new construction is over for now, at least in many areas of the U.S.As usual, there are tons of numbers out there that back this statement up. For example, the chief economist for the Associated Builder andContractors, Ken Simonson, has been publishing such statistics for nearly a year in his Data Digest newsletter....
The First Word: Create Your Future
From forecasting profits, to creating the plans and strategies that get you there, all three channels —HVACR contractors, distributors, and manufactures — work individually and often together to create a new future, one that is comfortable, environmentally friendly, and safe. ...
The First Word: AHR Expo: Its the Galleria of HVAC Products and Technology
Ladies and gentlemen. Tonight we have a really big “shoo.” For those of us old enough to remember, these are the words that televison variety show host Ed Sullivan used to say each Sunday night as he opened the evening’s entertainment. In 2007, the “really big shoo” for the HVACR industry was in Dallas, TX: The Air-Conditioning, Heating, & Refrigerating Exposition. ...
The First Word: Putting Our Money Where Our Mouth Is
It’s soapbox time, again. One of my hot buttons is the HVAC technician shortage. Case-in-point: I was having breakfast recently with a commercial contractor friend of mine. We meet somewhat irregularly to catch up on things and talk about the industry. On this particular morning our discussion steered toward the problem of finding decent field people. ...
What's Up With The Commercial Load Calculation Proposal?
Sometimes I just don't understand certain issues. When it comes to load calculations, I'm no engineer heck there are many who know that my math skills...
Cooperation Among Channels: Why Not?
Recently, a press release crossed my desk one put out by an organization called the Chiller Systems Group (a href="http://www.chillergroup.com" target="_blank")....
Does the HVAC Industry Suffer from ADD?
In my house, the running joke is how badly my wife and I suffer from ADD (attention deficit disorder). My wife, a Learning Disabilities teacher for the...
Brand New Dance, The Steps Are Changing
by Mike Weil, editor-in-chief With this issue, I step into a role I've coveted for some time, and one for which I am excited and humbled to be in. I recognize...
Dealer Quality is the New Reality
Before ever thinking about becoming an editor, I spent a couple of years under the impression that I'd someday be a journalist. It was much easier than...
The Weakest Link
No, Im not talking about that strangely compelling television show originally from Britain. Im talking about all the points of contact between customers...
